Return-Path: <sentto-279987-3261-1003788887-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Mon, 22 Oct 2001 15:16:07 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 15382 invoked by uid 510); 22 Oct 2001 22:14:17 -0000 Received: from n16.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.66) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 22 Oct 2001 22:14:17 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-3261-1003788887-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.53] by n16.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 22 Oct 2001 22:14:41 -0000 X-Sender: fc@red.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 22 Oct 2001 22:14:46 -0000 Received: (qmail 38942 invoked from network); 22 Oct 2001 22:14:46 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by l7.egroups.com with QMQP; 22 Oct 2001 22:14:46 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO red.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta2 with SMTP; 22 Oct 2001 22:14:46 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by red.all.net (8.11.2/8.11.2) id f9MMF4X10365 for iwar@onelist.com; Mon, 22 Oct 2001 15:15:04 -0700 Message-Id: <200110222215.f9MMF4X10365@red.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL3] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2001 15:15:04 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Special.forces.are.'painting'.Afghan.targets.for.US.strikes] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit 22 October 2001 Special forces are 'painting' Afghan targets for US strikes By Anthony Davis; Bagram; Afghanistan US aircraft began bombing Taliban frontline positions north of Kabul on 21 October, apparently assisted by special forces personnel operating from Bagram air base 'painting' targets with laser-designators. New air strikes were launched the following day. The 21 October strikes came during the afternoon and evening and involved sorties by three and four US Navy fighters respectively, according to opposition United Front (UF) military sources. The aircraft hit Taliban and allied positions in Qala-e-Basir and Gheir-e-Qol villages on the frontline opposite UF-held Bagram airbase some 45km north of Kabul. An intelligence officer of the UF's 515 Brigade, based at Bagram, said 30 Taliban troops died in the afternoon raid alone, adding that most were Pakistanis. US special forces activity has apparently increased in northern Afghanistan in recent days. One special forces team, believed to be an intelligence liaison group, is presently based in the Panjshir Valley, close to the Shomali plain and the frontlines north of Kabul. Another group was last week operating with UF Uzbek leader Gen Abdul Rashid Dostam in a UF-controlled pocket in northern Samangan province from which opposition forces have been attacking Mazar-e Sharif city, according to Gen Dostam, who spoke to JDW by telephone. Major Taliban and allied concentrations, including several thousand Arab, Pakistani and other foreign militants, are grouped along the Shomali front north of Kabul; and in a wide defensive arc west of the Kokcha River screening the northeastern town of Taloqan, which the UF lost in September 2000. 22 October 2001 Heroin onslaught theory premature By Tamara Makarenko, Special Advisor on Transnational Crime, Jane's Intelligence Review Shortly following the events of 11 September, the media in the UK and US reported unconfirmed rumours that the Taliban had lifted their ban on opium poppy production as a show of support for Osama bin Laden. The conclusions drawn from this was that the West would soon be flooded with cheap Afghan heroin – including a new liquid heroin financed by Osama bin Laden, called the ‘Tears of Allah’. Increased seizure rates on the Afghan-Iranian and Afghan-Tajik borders have been cited as evidence that large shipments of opium and heroin were being moved out of Afghanistan. This assessment, however, is premature and is somewhat flawed, since it is important to note that neither the Taliban nor al-Qaeda control the majority of drug trafficking routes outside of Afghanistan. The Taliban’s involvement in drugs has revolved around taxing the illicit trade, while Al-Qaeda has access to a small number of routes as a result of the organisation’s contacts with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and with Chechen militants. Much of the drugs trade from Afghanistan is controlled by Afghan traders and other criminal networks who smuggle Afghan drugs further West. Because of this reality, it is very unlikely that the Western market will be flooded by cheap heroin. Large confiscation rates in countries surrounding Afghanistan, coupled with evidence that the price of heroin has fallen significantly in the region, can be explained by the fact that following the events of 11 September Afghan traders – expecting US reprisals – needed to move their stockpiles for fear that they could be lost as a result of US military action. A low profit margin is naturally preferred to complete destruction. Thus, the primary interest for criminal networks involved in the drugs trade of Afghanistan and Central Asia is to find alternative locations for opium and heroin stockpiles. Given that there is little indication that large shipments of illicit narcotics are leaving Central Asia, it appears as though alternative locations have been found. It may subsequently be ascertained that the price of heroin and opium will soon rise again. ------------------------ Yahoo! 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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:56 PST